The disclosed invention relates in general to the field of enterprise mobile networks. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for installation and use of persistent agents in mobile devices to provide enterprise mobility management.
Nowadays, enterprises are focusing on providing greater mobility and flexibility to their employees. Providing mobility to the enterprise involves eliminating physical boundaries and facilitating the access of corporate applications and data from remote locations. Mobile devices help to support enterprise mobility by enabling remote access to applications and data. As a result, there has been a surge in the usage of mobile devices like Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), mobile phones, pagers and the like.
Mobile devices can be enabled through wireless and wired networks. Examples of wireless networks include Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Wideband Wireless Local Area Networks (WWLANs), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) networks, and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Mobile devices operating in wireless networks offer a number of benefits to the enterprise. These include providing remote access to corporate data, reducing errors in transactions, providing faster response to customer needs, and the like. By way of an example, mobile access through wireless networks to enterprise applications such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) increase productivity. Mobile access provides field service personnel with the ability to update orders, provide pricing and inventory information, access corporate documentation and the like.
There exist a number of technologies for enabling mobile devices over wireless networks. Examples of such technologies include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and the like. The connections to wireless networks are defined by protocols such as IEEE standards 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. Architectures such as Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) provide specifications for supporting wireless access to the Internet and other public packet based networks.
Enterprises face many challenges in the effective deployment, security, management, and support of mobile devices in wireless networks. The effective deployment of mobile devices involves creation of an inventory of available devices and users, besides tracking of Network Interface Cards (NIC) used by the devices to connect to the network. Furthermore, deployment also involves tracking of the service plans and accounts. These service plans and accounts can be associated to the individual NICs. The service plans contain configuration settings that may be applied to each mobile device. Other issues of importance in deployment include installation of standard and custom software, configuration of the devices with standard and personalized settings, and activation of all the devices on the network.
There exist methods and systems in the art, which address the issue of the challenges involved in the effective deployment of client applications onto mobile devices. One such system is described in US Application No. 20030041125, titled “Internet-Deployed Wireless System”. This patent application relates to the installation and configuration of application software on mobile devices over wireless networks. The Internet deployed system comprises an application server program. This application server program is downloaded and executed on remote wireless application server computers. The program is configured to transmit and install client applications onto portable devices. The client applications are configured to communicate with a local wireless application server computer over a wireless network.
Apart from issues related to deployment, enterprises also face considerable challenges in the security, management, and support of mobile devices over wireless networks. Some of the problems encountered include configuration of security settings, prevention of unauthorized access to the device, delivering software updates to remote users, monitoring device status, provision of facilities for detection, troubleshooting, diagnosis, repairing of end-user problems, restoration of applications and data, and the like.
There exist methods in the art that address the issues of security, management, and support of networked systems. One such method is described in WIPO Publication No. 0126287 A1, assigned to Critical Devices, Inc. titled “Method and System for Device Status Tracking”. This invention deals with provision of monitoring and tracking services for a plurality of devices. A user contracts with an operations center for services. After contracting the service, the operations center provides an agent, which is downloaded onto the user's device. This installed agent communicates with the operations center. The system further comprises an exception sentinel to monitor the status of selected monitored devices from a monitor server associated with the user's site. Based on the status data, the sentinel communicates data to an operations center. The operations center can generate alerts in response to the received data.
In addition to the challenges mentioned above, a significant problem with respect to mobile devices is related to volatile memory storage. A mobile device stores applications and data in a standard memory storage. The standard memory storage is volatile in nature, i.e., it retains applications and data as long as power is available. When power is lost, due to a discharged battery or otherwise, the contents of the device's standard memory are completely lost. The device is then reset to factory conditions with only the applications and data being stored in its persistent memory. Restoration of the device to its original working condition requires manual re-installation of applications and restoration of data. One method of restoration of a mobile device is by linking it up with a PC or a laptop, and transferring the required applications and data from the PC or the laptop onto the mobile device.
There exist a variety of products that attempt to solve the problem of deploying and installing applications and data onto the volatile memory storage of mobile devices. Examples of such products include Mobile Device Management Suite™, a product of SupportSoft, USA, and Concordia™, a product of Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, USA. Both these products provide tools for deployment, management, security, and support of mobile devices in wireless networks. Independent software programs called agents, that run on the mobile devices in the network, facilitate the functions of deployment, management, security, and support products. However, these products do not enable remote reinstallation of applications and data and restoration of mobile devices in the absence of the wireless network connection. They also do not deal with the persistent storage of the agents on the mobile devices.
The patent applications and products cited above suffer from one or more of the following limitations. Firstly, a solution for the restoration of applications and data in mobile devices to its state prior to loss of standard memory storage is not provided. Secondly, a complete solution providing persistent storage to the agents that facilitate deployment, management, security, and support of applications and data in mobile devices has not been provided in the art.
From the above discussion, it is evident that there is a need for an automated solution that facilitates remote deployment and restoration applications and data to its state prior to loss of standard memory storage in mobile devices. Furthermore, the solution should provide for persistent storage of the agents that facilitate deployment, management, security, and support of applications and data in mobile devices. Moreover, there is also a need for a solution that supports large-scale deployment of mobile devices. The solution should facilitate the centralized deployment, security, management, and support of mobile devices in wireless network environments.